A New Life to Protect
by Eternal Nightingale
Summary: NaruSaku.multi-chap.Slight AU."How can I protect something so small?" -Naruto "Am I a good mother?" -Sakura 'Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit.' -Bill Cosby
1. Chapter 1

**You know you're a crazed (insert favorite anime couple here) fan when you're constantly getting new ideas to type down as a story of that particular pairing.**

**I'm completely and totally guilty. NaruSaku has poisoned me! -shakes fist-**

**Here's another one for you readers. I might make this a two-shot though. I'm still thinking on it. **

**It's basically Naruto and Sakura having new parent syndrome lol. This first chapter is on Naruto's troubled thoughts.**

**I might make a separate one for Sakura, still thinking on it. **

**Yea, I know what you're thinking. What?! You gave them a kid? Already?! **

**I couldn't help myself though! Come on, Naruto and Sakura would make the greatest parent's in the world. Especially Naruto! They just go through normal problems just like any new parents right? -shrugs-**

**On a side note, my other story 'To See You Again.' I'll be updating that one soon too, since this new randomly popped into my head story, helped me get even more motivated to type up ch. 2 lol. **

**Guess I got nothing more to say! Read and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. That baby isn't mine either. Renji Uzumaki belongs to my buddy Tulip-chan and Naruto is the property of Kishimoto. Thank you! **

_"Whatever they grow up to be,  
They are still our children,  
And the one most important thing of all the things we can give them  
is unconditional love.  
Not a love that depends on anything at all except  
that they are our children."  
-Rosaleen Dickson_  
**

* * *

**

He was so...small. In his short twenty-one years of life, he had never seen something so...small.

Intense azure eyes stared down at the object of his thoughts.

'He's so tiny, how can he be this tiny?'

His lips fought to keep the tight line it had formed.

He studied, stared, wondered, all at once.

He didn't know whether to be sad at this infant's smallness or happy that the infant was his.

A shaking tanned finger slowly descended towards the crib. Halfway, a small pale hand reached out for the finger and grasped it.

A small chuckle leaves the man's lips.

The baby, had a strong grip for a small thing.

The blonde man frowned again. The word penetrating his mind even more than before.

The baby gurgles and kicks his crib, almost wanting to get the attention of his absentminded father.

Another chuckle, and the man pulls away his finger.

His eyes narrow in thoughtful bliss. His blonde hair swaying with the wind coming from the opened window of the nursery.

An identical mess of shorter and wavier blonde hair swayed with the blow of the wind as well. The baby's blue eyes staring at everything around him. Completely unaware of his father's troubled thoughts.

A heavy sigh is heard by the baby's sensitive ears and Naruto laughs as the curious wide eyes look around for whatever the sound had come from.

"You just got home kid, and you're already curious about everything aren't you?"

All the blonde man got in return was another gurgle from the baby as it returned to staring at the bright headband his father had adorned on his head.

'So small...'

The man couldn't seem to stay happy, no matter how much his son's baby antics amused him. He still remained troubled.

His hands that had once been crossed over his chest, now clenched tightly around the baby blue crib where the blonde haired infant seemed entertained staring at the shiny headband.

'How can he be so...small?'

He had been in that same position by the infant's little bed since early noon, and it was nearing to late afternoon. And still he remained. His thoughts on his little son, he knew, weren't going to let him concentrate on his paperwork back at his job.

He leaned forward a bit to stare down at the baby, who now had found the orange sleeve of his baby one-piece far more interesting than the man's headband.

The man once again smiled. The baby's blue eyes looked up to stare at his father. He continued chewing on his sleeve.

The blonde man mind popped up a random thought. His son's eyes had a tint of green in them. How strange. He never noticed before.

Maybe he was too busy wondering why the baby was so small.

"Is our son that entertaining to watch Naruto?"

The man's blue eyes turned to focus on the woman standing against the doorway of the nursery. His wife.

"...Sakura...heh, you know me! I find almost everything interesting nowadays." The man gave a wide grin at his wife, who raised a pink eyebrow and walked over towards the crib as well.

"You know...I would have believed you, if you hadn't forced that laugh Naruto." Her green eyes stare at up at him worriedly.

They share equally emotional gazes for a couple more seconds, before the blonde man turns away with a tired expression.

"It's nothing Sakura, just stress at the job that's all." His voice seemed almost mechanical as he spoke. Like he had that sentence planned out in his head.

"You haven't been standing here for nearly four hours staring at our newborn son to relieve stress Naruto. I know you better then that. And you know it." Sakura's voice was stern, yet held an undertone of genuine worry.

The man stares at his baby son, who was completely oblivious to everything around him, far more entertained with his now partially wet orange sleeve.

Naruto takes long and heavy steps to the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery, and plants himself there. He holds a small stuffed fox in his hands, absentmindedly playing with the stitches.

Sakura makes her way to him, and leans down to sit on the floor, right under her husband's blank stare. Her eyes saddened at his troubled behavior.

"Naruto, you're gone again...where are you?" Blue eyes widened slightly at his wife's words.

She always had a way to get to him, her wisdom has never seized to amaze him, even after nearly two years of marriage.

He smiles as he sets the stuffed fox on his lap. "I...don't know Sakura-chan...that's a very good question."

He welcomes the pale hand of his wife as she covers his own tanned one. "Perhaps I'm somewhere even I can't see."

"If that were the case then you probably wouldn't be so troubled by it, now would you?" his whiskered cheeks lift in a small laugh he releases as he listens to his wife's teasing tone.

"I guess you're right..."

Sakura's green eyes stare with increased worry, as his smiling face becomes serious again, and he gently squeezes her hand.

"...Naruto?"

"He's so small Sakura..." His eyes narrow in what she sees as internal fear.

Still she's confused. "Of course he is Naruto. Renji's an infant. No more then a month old."

"I know that Sakura, but...he's small..." Sakura still remained confused, even after her husband added an intense tone in the word 'small'.

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Her hand tightened around his larger one.

His eyes remained down for a moment. He then looked up and stared past her. At the black and orange coat hanging on one of the many chairs in the nursery. Then at the crib, where movement could still be seen.

He then stared at her, giving her a broken smile. Her chest felt that pinch she hadn't felt in a long time.

"How can I protect him Sakura?" He spoke his question nervously, shaking with every word that left his lips.

Her eyes widened in understanding. Her husband, was having first time parent nerves. But his was hitting him pretty hard, as she could now tell.

She couldn't blame him though, up until recently, Naruto never knew what a real family was. A mother, father, son/daughter. He now had one, and the overwhelming feeling must be driving him over the edge.

Sakura didn't know how right she was.

The blonde man stared at his wife as she stared back.

His unspoken questions being given to her through eye contact alone.

'Will I do the right thing? Can I still be there for you and Renji, even as I continue my duty as hokage? Can I still continue living my dream, and make you both happy? Am I a good enough person to even be a father? What if I disappoint him? What if I disappoint you Sakura? What if, I die? And leave him and you alone, like my father was forced to do to me? Will that happen to me too? Will I have to sacrifice my life for my village, and leave him a fatherless child and you a widow? Do I have enough strength to PROTECT him? To keep him safe from everything that dares hurt him? Sakura...'

Her green eyes sting with unshed tears. So much painful questions he was keeping to himself. Didn't he realize how much he was burdening himself with this?

She reaches out to rub his whiskered cheek, as a tear rolls down her face. His eyes remain dry, but she knows. He's cried many times before. He's completely out of tears.

The two of the them remain still, staring each other, reading each other's thoughts. She sitting on the floor, and he on the rocking chair, unmoving.

Then, Sakura gets up from her spot. And she walks back to the crib. Naruto watches with mild interest. His thoughts have overflowed and he was wandering off into a pool of self-doubt.

Seconds later, he hears the familiar baby sounds sounds of his son. He looks up to see Sakura holding their son in her arms, a content smile on her face.

He frowns. "Ne, Sakura...what are yo-"

The blonde hokage suddenly finds himself carrying his baby boy. The baby fuzzes for a moment from being taken away from his mother, but watches with renewed interest at his father's bright blue eyes.

Naruto smiles at him. Even after a month of getting used to him, Renji still made him smile over every little thing he did.

The baby's bluish-green eyes blink as he continues to stare at Naruto. Then he yawns, an action the baby still continues to grow at. The baby snuggles under the closest warmth he could feel, which was right under the crook of his father's arm.

Both parents smile as the infant drifts into a light slumber.

Sakura then looks up to stare at Naruto. The answer to all his troubling questions right in front of his own eyes.

"You just will Naruto." Her voice was sweet and gentle.

Naruto gives her a puzzled look before he realizes the question she answered.

"How...can you be so sure Sakura?" his eyes look at her pleadingly as he holds onto to their son.

"I can't." She answers truthfully, earning a somewhat shocked expression from her husband.

She rubs his free hand gently, and smiles. "No one can ever be sure if they'll protect their child from everything and everyone. It just...happens Naruto. That role of protective father just comes to you. It'll become part of what makes you, you, Naruto...that you won't even realize it happened...but..."

His hand grabs hers and squeezes it as she continues. "Those nights when he can't sleep because the storm scares him. When he gets his first knee cut, or arm cut, and he runs to you for safety. When he tries to hide something from you, just to make you smile and laugh after a long day's work. Those days when you stay home and you and him find the happiest amusement in the simplest of things."

Her green eyes shine with happy relief as she feels her husband's tension growing dim.

She continues. "His first steps, his first word, the first time he gets his feelings hurt. The first time he'll get bullied at. All of it Naruto. You'll be there. There to watch and guide each of his steps. To make sure he finds a path that will lead him to a wonderful life. That's when you'll realize that you've been protecting him all along."

Her eyes drift to their slumbering son as she smiles and reaches over to gently push away strands of blond hair.

"Don't stress about it, and don't beat yourself up over whether or not you'll be able to do any of it Naruto." She whispered. Her breath caressing her baby's cheek gently. He stirs in his father's arm for a moment, before returning to sleep.

"Because you just will...Naruto." The pink haired woman repeats her early words with a more determined edge to it.

The nursery remains silent after that, Sakura and Naruto both watching their baby son sleep away.

Naruto's expression remains hidden under the long locks of blonde hair. His breathing is soft and slow. Sakura could still tell he was staring at Renji.

His hand tightens around hers and he looks up.

She smiles.

His blue eyes release large drops of tears, and they slowly make their way down his whiskered cheeks. Yet, he smiles. A genuine smile.

"Arigato...Sakura."

Her eyes wrinkle as she gives her husband a wide grin. "Ie, it was nothing Naruto."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "It was. I've been worried about our first child together. If we would be able to do everything for him. The moment I saw his face I knew that I wanted to always keep him safe. You and him."

Naruto leans forward and plants a small kiss on Sakura's forehead. "You reassured me Sakura. You gave me back my strength."

He chuckles again. "How do you do it Sakura?"

She giggles as she gets up from the floor again and stretches. "It's a gift my dear! And I give no secrets away to my incredible talent."

"Aa, but my love, your amazing skills will never defeat my love for ramen. Believe it!" He winks at her pouting face as he gently gets up from the rocking chair and makes his way to his son's crib.

"I will one day Naruto. Ramen will no longer be a major part of your diet, believe it." Sakura smirks as he tenses from having his little catch phrase turned on him.

Naruto sighs, and decides to let Sakura win this little fight of theirs, for the day anyway.

He holds his son in both arms and carefully places him back into his crib. Renji squirms from being taken from the warmth, but relaxes when he feels it cover him again in the form of a blanket.

"I should probably go back, I'm sure my secretary is probably running around looking for the missing hokage." He turns around and gives Sakura his signature fox grin.

Sakura grabs the black and orange long coat hanging from a chair and walks over to hand it to Naruto.

"Hai, and we wouldn't want you to be late now would we hokage-sama?"

Naruto gives a nervous laugh as Sakura helps him put on his coat. "Gomen Sakura-chan."

"I know you are. Now here wouldn't want you forgetting your little hokage hat." Sakura laughs at her husband's embarrassed blush as she hands him the hat.

The woman plants a kiss on her husband's lips before leaving the room. She needed to get her son's bottle ready.

Naruto smiles at his wife's retreating form. She really was one of a kind.

His azure eyes turn to look over at crib again. The baby was still asleep.

His hand goes back down and gently ruffles his son's short blonde hair.

He smiles again. This time his thoughts not as troublesome as before. 'He's so small.'

"Yea, but I'll be sure to see him grow. Then he won't be that small, will he?"

A twirl of a coat, and the man was gone. For the moment.

He had to return to his duty as protector of his village.

He would return though, and continue his even more important duty. A duty he was proud of holding.

Protector of his family.

* * *

**For some reason, I'm finding the ending really corny. But I'll leave it at that.**

**Finished! Hope you enjoyed it. And I hope I kept Naruto as close to his character as possible. **

**Still thinking if I should make one for Sakura. Please let me know if you think I should!**

**Review if you liked it, cause your opinion matters. Well...to me anyway :P**

**(Tulip-chan! You better review too! Cause your OC Renji was in it lol.)**

**End.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm tired. And I'm glad my state tests are over, but my brain is completely fried. I'm surprised I managed to even do this chapter for this two-shot of mine. O.o...quite surprised indeed.**

**Moving on from that though, I did make a second part. Sakura is the main focus in this one, and I just hope I kept them in character, for the most part anyway. Since I was half-gone in the head to begin with from all that testing. **

**On another note, there's a side pairing in this chapter. Yes, begin groaning if you so wish. SasuHina is in this one. Why? Cause I love this pairing too, and I really don't give a flying turd if this pairing is the most crack of the crack that you've ever heard. **

**Besides that though, enjoy this two-shot that was a random thought of inspiration that entered my head to wreck sabotage upon this site...lol? **

**Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine...neither is Bleach...or Inuyasha...or...any other Anime in known existence...god, I'm tired and depressed now... **

_"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world.  
It knows no law,  
No pity  
It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."  
-Agatha Christie _

* * *

Green eyes stared blankly at a plastic blue star hanging from the ceiling of the quiet and peaceful nursery.

The sunlight streaming through one of the open windows reflected against the said star, and it momentarily caused the green eyes to shut close.

A pale hand lifted and covered the eyes from the bright light.

Then, amongst all the quiet and peaceful sounds of an early summer day, came a soft giggle.

Pale pink lips lifted into a smile. The owner of the smile rocked once more on the rocking chair, before raising from the it and walking over towards the source of the sound.

Her white dress moved with the motion of her legs, and her white sandals scraped slightly on the blue carpet. Pink hair was tied back into a loose bun, and the green eyes attention now lied within a solitary blue crib.

The giggles sounded again, and her smile grew in size.

If there was a word that could describe her feelings at being in this situation, and being what she knew she was, well, she would tell the world over and over.

It's been nearly eight months, eight months since she brought this little creature to the world, and yet every moment she spend with him, seemed so serene, so unreal. Yet wonderful and mesmerizing all the same.

She was a mother.

Sakura Haruno...well Sakura Uzumaki now, was a mother.

The girl who planned year after year, her wedding and future life with Sasuke Uchiha. The girl who found her husband insufferable, annoying, plain stupid, and a waste of space the first time she was put into team seven with him. The girl, who had cried rivers, when the said Uchiha left, and then put all her burdens on a knuckle-headed blonde nin's shoulders.

That and so much more that she did, and she...was a mother.

Her green eyes looked downwards towards her baby son, who was currently trying to put a red square in the hole shaped like a circle.

She let out a smile laugh. She was a mother to such a silly baby, yet she loved this little boy, because he was hers.

The boy picked up the sound of his mother and looked up. His blue-greenish eyes twinkled in recognition and he let out another fit of giggles.

He dropped the red square and stretched out his arms. An indication to his mother that he wanted to be picked up.

He smiled at her, and his four little front teeth, shined from the light in the room.

Sakura shook her head in false disappointment, and then lifted the chubby baby from the crib.

His laughter only increased as she held him, and she gave a fake pout.

"You're such an attention hogger like your father aren't you Renji-chan?" her voice hinted false anger and her green eyes twinkled with pure amusement.

The baby simply took his chubby hands and patted his mother's cheeks. He giggled in infant happiness and only replied. "Mama!"

Sakura's eyelids drooped in thoughtful bliss. Renji had learned had to say mama just two weeks ago, and she's been basking in the sound of her baby saying that to her ever since.

His blonde hair tickled her nose as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. He spoke little baby babbles only he could understand, and his hands kept patting her skin gently.

Her feet guided her back towards the opposite end of the nursery, where she had kept all of Renji's toys. The baby immediately became excited at the vision of his toys and began to squirm in her arms.

She set her son down on the bright baby blue rug, and handed him a small train for him to play with the square people his father had bought for him days earlier.

Renji soon concentrated himself on making the train move around the people without hitting them. Sakura watched all of this with humorous glee.

Her eyes twinkled even more with the happiness she gained by being with her son.

But she still had self-doubts, even at this point of her parenthood.

Renji was nearing his first year, and so far, nothing has happened. Everything she thought would go wrong, hasn't so far. For now, she would always think to herself.

The reassurance she had given Naruto nearly five months early, seem to hold no help for her situation.

She could give him the confidence he needed to be the father she knew he could be, yet when it came to her...all she saw was a horrible mother. Someone who was still selfish, and the mistakes of her past life would hurt her future.

Her little future with blonde hair and blue-greenish eyes.

Her eyes lost their shine as she suffocated herself in her own doubts of how she was raising her son.

Naruto was worried about not being able to protect them, of not being able to be there for them in everything.

But what if he needed to protect Renji from her? And what if she was the one that wasn't going to be able to do everything for them?

Her ears tuned out her son's giggles of joy and his grunts of infant annoyance as he tried to play with his train.

She could easily fail in her job as Renji's mother as Naruto thought he would fail as his father. Except, in her mind...she thought she would fail much more easier than her husband.

He was strong, and his will never ending. His desire to protect and defend what was precious to him with his own life. All of that, she didn't have in her soul as Naruto did.

Her body suddenly became cold in the little nursery. The morning sun of a summer's day hit her back and yet she still felt cold.

It hasn't been the first time she's entered into a small fit of depression. Since the birth of Renji, she's been going in and out of them. Each one hitting her harder than the last.

"Mama..?" A small hesitant squeak of a voice echoed in her head.

Sakura's eyes widened in mild shock as she was taken away from her thoughts. She looked down.

Train still in his chubby hands, Renji had crawled over to her and was patting her thigh gently.

Her white dress made ripple like waves as the baby hand patted it.

His blue-greenish eyes looked at her, and his blonde brows formed a sad scowl. "Mama...cry-cry."

Her eyes widened again. A shaky hand went up to her cheek, and made contact with a wet substance. She had...been crying.

Wiping them away quickly, she smiled and flicked at Renji's nose playfully. "Silly little boy, you know mama never cries. Now go on Renji-chan go play."

The baby took the smile as permission to leave. His mind still too undeveloped to understand some of his mother's words. He smiled and crawled back to his spot on the carpet.

Sakura's eyes looked even more distraught. There she goes again. Making her son know the meaning of worrying over her, even before he knew what it was. She felt pathetic, truly and deeply pathetic.

Her green eyes dulled as the warm breeze coming in from the window passed through her. Strands of her pink hair flowing with it. Her white dress once again rippling along her body.

She still felt the cold within her. The coldness of self-doubt, self-loathing, and self-pity. She was growing phobic over making mistakes. She wanted to give her son a good life, yet she felt incapable of doing even that simple thing for him.

"Naruto-kun told me I'd find you here." A soft voice echoed throughout the nursery.

Sakura turned around and her eyes shined again. Her friend, her now very close friend, Hinata stood at the door, smiling.

Standing up, Sakura walked over and hugged her friend. Hinata's swollen belly making it somewhat difficult.

They both laughed as they managed a hug without incident.

"Ne, I can see why you had such a hard time hugging me when I was pregnant with Renji." Sakura spoke in a tone of humor and sympathy.

Hinata nodded gently and rubbed her large belly affectionately. She was expecting twins in July.

"Hai, but it's okay at least we're even now." Her smile never leaving her face, the Uchiha matriarch followed Sakura back to where Renji continued playing.

Sakura chuckled as she reached for another chair for her to sit on, so she could let Hinata have the rocking chair. "I suppose you're right about that Hinata-chan."

Both women sat in silence for a few moments, watching the eight month old play with his train. Sakura turned to her friend and began to speak.

"What brought on this surprise visit? Sasuke-kun has been keeping you indoors now since you're close to your due date." Sakura's smile widened to a mischievous grin as she saw Hinata blush.

"H-Hai. I know, but I really wanted to see Renji, and I m-managed to convince Sasuke to let us come over for at least an h-hour." Hinata smiled sheepishly at her pink haired friend. "But I have to c-call him from the living room downstairs i-if something were to happen."

"Overprotective as usual. That Sasuke-kun." Sakura giggled in amusement.

Hinata would have replied, by two chubby arms had found a way to her long blue skirt and was pulling on it incessantly. Her opaque eyes met the baby's own blue-greenish eyes, and she smiled.

Bending down as best as she could, the indigo-haired woman picked up the Uzumaki baby and placed him on her enlarged belly.

"My, he's grown much more handsome since the last time I saw him Sakura-chan." The woman's soft voice spoke as she tried to hold in a giggle. The baby was curiously poking at her belly.

"Hai, and growing more mischievous by the day." Sakura raised a brow as she watched her son stare at Hinata's belly as if it were the most important thing in the world. His eyes gleamed with infant knowledge both women in the room seem to know nothing about.

"I-It's okay. He's a growing baby, obviously he'd have to start becoming curious a-about other things." Hinata's cheeks glowed red when Renji poked her belly then gave the most hilarious quizzical looks she has ever seen.

"He's looking more and more l-like Naruto-kun isn't he?" Hinata asked as she let a giggle escape her lips.

Sakura's face turned thoughtful as she watched her Renji study and poke and study again Hinata's belly. Her lips twitched upward into a wide smile.

"Hai...he's becoming more like his father everyday. I'm glad, Naruto can be a great person of good qualities." Sakura turned her attention from her friend and baffled baby son and looked out the window.

The high morning sun of the early summer day highlighted Sakura's features. Her face became even more maternal that it already was. Her green eyes seemed worn out, yet illuminated happiness at the same time.

Hinata turned to look at her friend, and her soft smile flourished into a small grin. The baby, also noticed the belly of the woman carrying him shift as she turned to face something. Upon seeing his mother, Renji broke into a fit of happy goos and gaas, yelling out mama.

Sakura rose from her chair and went over to get the squirming boy from Hinata. His blue-greenish eyes danced with joy as she neared. And her smile only widened.

"Come on then, if you want to be with momma so badly I suppose I can carry you for awhile." She teased the eight month old as his chubby arms held on tightly to her thin arms.

His face automatically dove to the crook of her neck again, and giving one more giggle he settled himself there and lulled himself to a light sleep. The baby's arms now closed around Sakura's neck, and taking this opportunity, Sakura walked over and sat on the big couch across from the rocking chair.

Hinata watched this scene before her with awe and wonder. She had never seen Sakura look so, loving. And Renji seemed in automatic peace as soon as he was in her arms. Hinata smiled again. Renji adored his momma, and though still too young to comprehend, she knew that the baby would only feel ultimate tranquility with his mother. Sakura gave the baby a motherly security.

"I hope I'm as good a m-mother as you are Sakura-chan." Hinata stared at the ceiling of the nursery as she spoke, her hand instinctively rubbing her belly. "When...my t-twins are born I mean."

Sakura had stopped smoothing out Renji's sweaty curls from his forehead when Hinata spoke those words. Green eyes stared at Hinata in bewilderment. "Y-You think I'm a good mother Hinata-chan?" her lips shook with each word.

The Uchiha woman simply nodded her reply and continued. "You love Renji very much, and it's obvious he loves depending on you. You are his life now, I could tell by the simple yet adorable reactions he has from just hearing your voice, or seeing your face. I hope my children are like that with me as well."

Sakura looked down at her sleeping son, noticing for the first time, how his hand that held hers was tighter than the other empty one. His little knuckles white from holding on too tightly. She smiled, now that Hinata mentioned it, she began to notice many other things as well.

The way Renji seemed only to like being fed by her. When Naruto attempted it, he only managed a few bites before Renji threw the food back at him with the spoon. His eyes only twinkled when she held him. His tears always seized at the sound of her voice entering the nursery. And the way his nose always crinkled when she was about to give him a bath.

"You give him a strong bond to hold onto, even at his young age. You're a wonderful mother, because you gave him the definition of love, even before he'll know what it means." Hinata blushed with happiness for her friend, and embarrassment for speaking so much about Sakura.

Her mouth slightly opened, and her eyes wide with surprise, Sakura stared at her indigo-haired friend. Was...Hinata complementing her over being a good mother? A compliment, when she was just bringing herself down just moments ago? That she wasn't a good mother? Yet Hinata said the opposite.

"A-Arigato..." Was all the young woman mustered out enough to say.

Hinata nodded gently. "Please, don't mention it." She giggled as the baby laying next to Sakura kicked his legs in his dreaming state. "I just h-hope I'll be a good a mother as you are Sakura-chan."

Green eyes blinked in utter disbelief at her friend's words. Hinata, who was always the shyest, most timid, most gentle, and most caring of the Kunoichi in the rookie nine was looking up to her when it came to maternal nature?

Sakura bend down to look at her sleeping son. His round face was calm and relaxed. His eye twitched from something in his dreams, and his hair stuck to his scalp in a light sweat.

She gave a grateful smile in Hinata's direction as she looked up again. "I'm sure you will Hinata-chan...you definitely will."

The woman from across her narrowed her eyes in a thoughtful stare, and her smile widened. Both women met eye to eye, and for a moment they shared their true message. Hinata reassured Sakura not to let her doubts worry her, and in turn...Sakura did the same.

"Ne Ne, Hinata-chan?" A gruff voice from down the halls reached both women's ears.

Hinata giggled and Sakura rolled her eyes in amusement. It was Naruto.

A blonde head popped into the room and a grin soon appeared on the man's face.

"There you are Hinata-chan! Teme downstairs said you guys gotta go. He's being his pansy self as usual." Naruto made a face to show his playful disdain of the Uchiha downstairs and walked into the nursery.

With the blonde hokage's help, Hinata rose from the rocking chair and steadied herself against his arms. "Arigato Naruto-kun. Gomen for Sasuke's behavior, he's just more tense than usual over the twins." Her hand rubbed the belly affectionately.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned at his friend. "No apologies needed Hinata-chan! It's not your fault you married a complete asshole. Besides he'll get a big bite from karma for yelling at me this whole visit when those little kids of yours doesn't let him sleep for the first month."

Sakura glared at her husband at his insensitive comment. Hinata simply smiled and nodded.

Wobbling towards Sakura, Hinata waited till the woman stood up to hug her tightly. "I'm glad to have come over Sakura-chan. I h-hope we see each other again, hopefully next time with my own babies."

Sakura smiled and tightened the hug as best as she could. "Hai, Hinata-chan! I'll look forward to that visit too!"

Both women giggled in their embrace, and Sakura whispered in her friend's ear. "Arigato...truly."

Hinata's opaque eyes gleamed with utter happiness as she released Sakura and looked her in the eyes.

No more words were needed between them.

The Uchiha woman wobbled to Naruto and embraced him as well. He planted a wet kiss on her cheek to annoy her and then laughed when he earned a slap on the back from Sakura.

"See ya later Hinata-chan! And tell Sasuke-teme to stop being so freaking tense and let himself relax!" His right arm flared back and forth in a fast wave as Hinata left the nursery to go find her husband in the living room.

The Uzumaki family were alone.

Naruto walked over to the window and waved down at the Uchiha couple as they left his home. Sakura remained in her seat on the couch.

Her eyes seemed more peaceful and not as troubled as earlier.

Her husband moved back to her and watched curiously at her blank expression.

"You okay Sakura?" His voice reached her ears. His lips moved down to a frown

She numbly nodded and looked over at her son again. His body flinched, almost as a natural reflex to his mother's stare reaching him.

She smiled softly. "I got a compliment today."

Naruto's eyebrows rose in amusement. He sat next to Sakura and grinned. "That so? So what was it?"

The young woman frowned slightly, then her eyes turned serious. Seconds passed in silence. Then she smiled again. A line of tears forming in her eyes.

Naruto watched Sakura with a nervous twitch in his left eye. He never like when she got sentimental, she always got...moody.

"Hinata-chan...told me...that I was a good mother...and that she hopes she'll be as good as I am." The tears never rolled down her cheeks. Her lips quivered though and her voice seemed strained.

Naruto's twitch stopped, and his blue eyes dulled in seriousness. His arm snaked over her shoulders. And he sighed.

"That sounds like something to be happy 'bout don't ya think Sakura?" He tried to sound humorous, but he knew it didn't work.

Sakura let out a small laugh anyway. Her hand continued passing through her son's hair. "Aa, I suppose it should make me happy ...and it does. I just thought you should know...because...because..."

Her hidden tears fell slowly down her face. Her body shook, and the hand that was on her child's hair trembled.

Naruto sighed again, and scooted closer to his wife and embraced her. No more needed to be said. He knew what she meant to say, what she wanted to say. His blue eyes showed signs of understanding and sadness.

Sakura doubted her abilities as a mother, she thought she wouldn't be a good mother to their son. Her friend reassured her, with kind words between two mothers.

'There's nothing more...that I can say.'

Sakura continued to cry on her husband's shoulder, a small smile on her lips. She was a good mother. Who would have thought?

Naruto closed his eyes in peaceful bliss, welcoming the opportunity to comfort his usually strong wife. She WAS a good mother, why she ever doubted it, was something he figured he'd never know.

Renji, among his silly baby dreams, his arms and legs thrusting here and there, his lips moving to speak words he could only understand, his closed eyes watching his sleeping visions, smiled.

A smile, one would guess, for being blessed with two parents who would do anything for him. Anything.

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**Please review...yatta yatta yatta and all that good stuff... -goes to sleep-**

**-END**


	3. Chapter 3

**I have no idea why I'm making a third chapter for this...but it kept nagging at me to write more for this, so I will oblige to it.**

**Another one-shot over Naruto and Sakura and their baby son Renji. And I got more where this came from so...I'll be apparently -sigh- updating this story as well. The inner fangirl in me just wants to show her face some more it seems. **

**Babies can form bad habits as I've seen (Baby-sat over four cousins in a two year span) and I wanted Naruto and Sakura to suffer such things with their baby.**

**Wow...that came out more bitchy than I wanted it to...oh well. **

**I have to go remove the complete thing for this story seeing as my mind has come up with other ideas to annoy me. :P**

**Please review if you found this one-shot appealing in anyway. I'll be updating 'To See You Again' soon too lol.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing not even the diaper-clad mini Naruto in the story. -lacks originality- **

_"A baby is an inestimable blessing and bother."  
-Mark Twain_

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Now Naruto Uzumaki was no Father of the Year, heck he could barely change his son's diaper.

But he really didn't think his infant son should be breaking these many toys. And then hiding the broken pieces for his groggy father to step on in the early morning.

Example today. His big toe is now the size of an overlarge grape thanks to a piece of a once fully assembled toy car.

He grimaced as he picked up the piece of broken toy car that caused his undying pain. He stared at the car piece and wondered how such a small thing caused so much pain.

"I hate you..." He worded out slowly as he rubbed the injured toe.

Naruto's blue eyes followed the sound of a lively giggle coming from down the hall. He sighed and rose to his feet. The soreness of his poor toe being pounded into his head as he walked.

His wife walked in with a bubbly baby boy chewing on the sleeve of his blue long shirt. Sakura raised an eyebrow as she stared at her husband. His blue eyes looked tired and dark circles were under them making him look older than twenty-one. Balancing her son on her hip she placed her free hand on his whiskered cheek and smiled ruefully.

"Looks like you're having a good morning Naruto."

Naruto laughed sarcastically and gently removed his wife's hand. "Very funny Sakura-chan. Shouldn't you be the normal supportive wife who comes to my rescue when I look this tired this early?"

Sakura shrugged as she walked past him and towards the kitchen. "Well when you married me I punched you approximately ten times. That proves I'm far from a normal wife Naruto." She giggled as Naruto sighed again. "Which means normal behavior is out of the question. Isn't that right Renji-kun??" She spoke playfully at her infant son who giggled hysterically.

Naruto mumbled something under his breath and went back to the couch to pick up the source of his pain. He walked after his wife and leaned against the archway wall of the kitchen. His blue eyes softened as he watched Sakura take out ingredients for their breakfast. The baby in her arms fidgeting to be let go so he can continue to crawl.

She blew away the bangs in her face and shifted Renji again. "Hold still little guy, I'm trying to get your father fed." The little blonde baby pouted but remained still.

Naruto smiled sympathetically at his son and went towards the dining table to sit down. The baby's blue-green eyes shined with hope as he stretched out his stubby arms and let out incoherent sounds towards his father. Sakura rolled her green eyes and turned round to place her son into Naruto's arms.

She feigned a hurt expression as the baby seemed happier to be in his father's arms. "I gave birth to you Renji-kun and this is the thanks I receive." she wiped away a fake tear and turned back around to start breakfast.

Naruto laughed as his son giggled and bounced on his lap. Naruto grinned widely. "You little brat, as long as you get what you want your happy aren't ya?"

The little blonde head nodded as though he understood and began to climb down his father's leg. Naruto made an annoyed face and grabbed a hold of his infant son by the back of his blue shirt. Sakura turned back around from cooking eggs when she heard her son began to babble out angrily.

Her green eyes shined with amusement as she watched the two blondes of her life give each other glares. "What on earth are you doing Naruto?" Her voice barely understandable as she tried not to laugh.

His glare lessened as his eyes looked up to stare at her. "Keeping him from breaking any more of his toys. Haven't you noticed Sakura?"

His eyes widened in disbelief as Sakura shook her head slowly and blinked innocently at him. He stood up abruptly and still holding his baby son by the shirt gaped at his wife. "Sakura-chan!! How could you NOT notice the broken pieces of toys lying all over our floor!" his whiny voice caused Sakura to giggle.

"Naruto you're over-exaggerating. I've spent this entire week with our son and he hasn't broken any toys..."Sakura stopped speaking as she noticed the enlarged toe her husband possessed. She pointed with a shaky finger and stumbled out her words. "N-Naruto...you have a big g-grape as a t-toe!!"

Naruto stared at his wife with confusion until he remembered his earlier injury. Rubbing the back of his head he laughed. "Yea, well that's what happens when you step on broken toys in the middle of a dark room."

"Well, maybe if you had turned on the lights in the living room that wouldn't have happened Naruto."

"Sakura-chan! Like I expected our son to have a fetish for hiding his broken toys that he broke in the first place."

"Don't use that whiny voice on me Naruto it doesn't work! And don't say fetish! I don't want Renji-kun inheriting your foul mouth."

"He's nine months old Sakura I don't think he even knows what that means." Naruto spoke with an exasperated look on his face.

"Babies are impressionable Naruto! Besides you're a highly skilled ninja, warding off pieces of broken baby toys should be child's play for you." Sakura pointed out as she cooked the bacon next to the scrambled eggs.

Naruto's expression turned pouty as he sat back down on the chair and rubbed his injured toe with his free hand. "Ne, not when my eyes are still half-asleep Sakura-chan..."

The baby in his tanned hand wriggled around annoyingly, making a pouty face of his own at being unable to free himself from his father's grasp. Naruto sighed and gave his son a soft glare.

"I'm in this painful mess cause of you squirt, just to let you know."

Sakura released a sigh of her own at the immature behavior her husband was showing. "Can't you just let it go Naruto? He's just a baby, Renji-kun doesn't know any better."

"That's not the problem though. I'm already grumpy cause you took away my precious ramen Sakura-chan." His eyes narrowed as he spoke, trying to remind his wife of his other pain. "The baby will make this a habit if we don't stop him soon."

The said baby continued to struggle to release himself from his father, oblivious to the fact that he was causing such an uproar this early in the morning. Sakura turned around to take the pan with the hot eggs and fried bacon over to the plates set on the table. Her green eyes shined with sympathy as her baby boy wriggled around his shirt trying to get free.

"Let go of your son and just eat your breakfast Naruto, I'll heal your toe after we're done." She smiled sweetly at Naruto and kissed him on the cheek before patting it affectionately. She then returned to the stove to boil the water for the tea.

Naruto let his shoulders slump in defeat as he placed his son to his high chair. Putting his elbows on the table and the palms of his hands on his chin he sighed again and blew away some strands of his long blonde hair. "You know the whole sweet talk thing won't work on me forever Sakura-chan."

Sakura simply laughs and goes to redo her hair into a tighter bun. She hears her husband sigh in pent up frustration and shakes her head. He was being stubborn over one little broken toy.

"Naruto, I've been walking around this house for nearly a week." Sakura agitatedly mentions as she walks over towards the table. "And not once have I stepped on a bro..."

Both the baby and Naruto turn curious eyes towards Sakura's voice which had stopped speaking mid-sentence. Naruto raised a blonde brow as he noticed the purple tinge of color his wife's face was turning. He let his blue eyes drift down to her rigid feet, and his expression became one of fear and cold realization.

His wife's entire foot stepped on the sharp broken arm of their son's obviously broken action figure.

Naruto edged himself slowly out of his seat and carefully made his way to the bubbly Renji. The baby bounced around and grunted happily at his father to be picked up. His blue-green eyes shined with glee at seeing his old broken toy as he was lifted onto his father's shaking arms.

Sweat rolled down Naruto's whiskered cheeks as he cautiously moved towards the doorway to the living room. His blue eyes wide with apprehension at what he knew his wife was about to do.

Her body began to shake as his foot touched the soft carpet of the living room. The foot that was injured showed signs of redness as she tried to control in her pain and anger. The baby seemed unaffected by the sudden tension in the kitchen as he reached out for his mother.

"Mama! Mama!"

'Oh, no...here we go...'

Naruto winced as he heard the low growl coming from his wife. Her face covered by her pink bangs.

"Renji Kyo Uzumaki!! Look at what you've done! You little Bastard my f foot is going to be swelled for the rest of the f day! Motherf!! It really hurts like hell!"

Naruto's heart pounded in his chest as he leaned his body against the opposite side of the wall that separated the kitchen and living room. The baby in his arms had stopped wriggling and stared up at his breathless father. Curious blue-green eyes wide in wonder at the loudness of his mother's words.

Naruto grimaced as he continued to listen to Sakura's anger tantrum. He patted his son's mop of blonde hair.

"Be lucky my son that you don't understand a single word your mother is yelling at you."

The baby gurgled something that sounded like a word and began to play with his father's necklace.

Naruto sighed and a weary look overcame his face as his wife's yells became grumbles and then low mumbles as she left to go treat her injured foot.

Too tired to stop him, Naruto let Renji crawl towards his collection of toys. The baby let out a overly-happy giggle as he grabbed his little cars and began to collide them with each other.

Naruto's blue eyes caught sight of four other broken pieces scattered across the living room carpet and shook his head.

"I can't believe our son is such a little jerk by leaving his broken toys everywhere like that on purpose." Came the quiet but annoyed voice of his wife as she leaned against the wall Naruto himself was leaning on.

Both parents watched as Renji collided his toy cars again and again, almost wanting to break them. Naruto shook his head again and then rubbed the back of it.

"I did warn ya Sakura-chan...now both our feet have suffered the consequences."

"Tell me about it." Sakura mumbled as she winced when her foot touched the cold floor of the kitchen.

They heard the sound of something crunching and breaking in half and returned their attention to their infant son. Green and blue eyes widened in disbelief, Renji had managed to break both the toy cars. Sakura began to walk forward expecting Renji to break into sobs at any second, but was stopped by her husband's strong arm.

"Wait...look."

curious, Sakura obliged to Naruto and stopped to stare at her baby son. Renji's blue-green eyes studied the broken pieces hard, contemplative almost, as he picked up one piece than placed it back to pick up another.

Moments pass as the two parents stare at the baby. Then they both gasp when the baby seems to make a choice and hugs the broken piece to his tiny chest as if it were discovered treasure. And then...

The baby smirks.

Naruto falls to the ground in utter shock, and Sakura nearly joins him as she sees her precious innocent baby smirk almost as diabolically as Uchiha Sasuke.

The baby places the broken toy in the pocket of his little shorts and begins to crawl towards the hallway leading to his parent's bedroom, the smirk still on his face.

As he passes by his stunned mother and his father, who was rubbing his bruised rump from the fall, he babbles something in his unique baby language and continues to crawl.

Naruto stares up at his wife from his spot on the floor. Sakura's eyes remain on the figure of her baby son who was now patting the carpet as if trying to find a spot to put his broken toy piece in.

She sighs and covers her face with her hand in agitation.

Naruto smiles an ironic smile at the situation.

"Looks like we've got a problem." They both voice out with tired resignation.

Renji goos with a tone of childish pleasure as he pats the carpet some more. The smirk now turned into a mischievous grin.

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**And that's all she wrote folks...really...it is.**

**I know Tulip-chan will love this one seeing as she finds Renji being evil highly amusing. **

**If any of you found it amusing/entertaining/confusing/hilarious/ok then you can give me a review and tell me all about it! After all your opinion matters!! :)**

**End**


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